The video game industry definitely has it’s traditional waves of heavy release times. The rush to push out games before the late December holidays is one of them. Not being an expert on the marketing side I can only guess it’s because they want to not only capitalize on gift giving but also avoid putting games out during the more frugal post-holiday weeks. Whatever their reasons, 2022 was no exception. In fact it felt like a tsunami this year. Game updates, DLCs and of course new releases. This is our starting point for strategy.RIP with some quick overviews.
Let’s start with an overview of all we checked out personally since December 1st.
- Stellaris – Free 3.6 update
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns – New release
- ANNO 1800 – New World Rising expansion
- Stranded: Alien Dawn – update in early access
- Knights of Honor II: Sovereign – New release
- Dwarf Fortress – big update and Steam release
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters – Duty Eternal expansion
- Jurassic World Evolution 2 – Dominion Malta expansion
- IXION – new release
Phew, that was a lot. Even as I type this though I am thinking about how I am backed up and multiple things came out yesterday I need to get some time in with. We aren’t going to worry about those now though.
Disclaimer: Most of these games I either had sponsored segments for in December, or have in the past.
Stellaris, 3.6 “Orion” update, Nov 29, 2022. Sure this didn’t drop in December. I did play it until December started though so I am counting it. The “Orion” update was not released along with a paid DLC, it was just a straight up free update. From a company (Paradox Interactive) that takes a lot of crap for the number of paid DLCs they release, this update should be applauded. It was no small update. There are a ton more changes and fixes, too many for me to get into but you can find more on the Stellaris forums.
To get to it, it was just a blast playing this update and getting into all the new stuff. If you are a fan of Stellaris and haven’t spent time with this free update than you better get to it. It is a lot of small changes adding up to make the overall game feel different enough to give you several more rounds of fresh exploration and new choices along your empire’s path into the future.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns, new release, Dec 2, 2022. Midnight Suns had a lot of hype leading to it’s release for a strategy game. A lot of it was wrong too. Don’t get me wrong the game is great, it deserved some hype. Where it was wrong though was because it was developed by Firaxis most people went into release day thinking it was going to be a Marvel version of XCOM. I got about 9 hours of play time in and am dying to get back to it. The story and conversations are cheesy as can be, and I enjoyed the crap out it. While the combat with cards and possible combo of heroes that were opening up for me was a blast.
ANNO 1800, New World Rising expansion, Dec 8, 2022. This isn’t unbiased. I have loved ANNO 1800 since it’s release and this is the expansion I have waited for. Bigger land masses in the New World, another citizen tier, much more and all being tied together with the previous New World focused DLCs from earlier this year. I loved it. ANNO 1800 is a grind and if you enjoy that grind this gives you a lot more of it.
Stranded: Alien Dawn, update in early access, Dec 6, 2022. It’s an early access game so I am patient with it. It is also a lot like RimWorld (but in 3D), so I am patient again to see how it makes it self stand apart by full release. With all that said, I like the game and enjoyed the update. It brings in a new desert biome with some new fauna and flora for it. It’s definitely gorgeous, and it’s helped by the new “Moon” choices. Think of the moons as similar to RimWorld’s story tellers. They impact the random events. In this case though they are visual, adding more beauty to the world.
Knights of Honor II: Sovereign, new release, Dec 6, 2022. My short time with this was game was mostly a sponsored segment but I kept on going after that ended. I look forward to get back into it down the road. I never played the original but I was told over and over it seemed to be staying true to that. It’s your standard map of Europe type world. The combat is a little raw, like a Total War light mixed with traditional RTS. And while it doesn’t blow you away it was quick and rather enjoyable. Good thing, because I did a lot of it. I got locked in some long wars. The town building aspect was an interesting mechanic and having individual characters on your council, who start to build a little story adds to the game.
Dwarf Fortress, new Steam release, Dec 6, 2022. This is kind of the big one. Dwarf Fortress has been around nearly twenty years, for free. It also had a UI that tortured you and ASCII graphics. One or both of those kept most people from playing it. The game has always been great though, even if that UI kept me from getting into it. Now that I can use a mouse though, unleash the beast of ultimate dwarf story creation. I have played this more than any other game on this list in December. Not even close. It’s been a blast. The UI is still clunky, but a million times better. The graphics are enjoyable. And when you are to caught up following the story of a teen dwarf who has murdered multiple people and making legendary items out of their bones, you can overlook some issues a bit.
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters, Eternal Duty expansion, Dec 6, 2022. There are a lot of Warhammer 40K games these days. There are also a lot that are turn based tactical squad combat. Daemonhunters hits pretty well as a standout though. Visually it’s very good. The story doesn’t hurt it, and most important the combat just feels good. It has thump! The game also gives you a good amount of challenge. So much so that on the new DLC’s opening mission I got my butt kicked the first time. Yikes. I like what the DLC is adding though, especially the Dreadnaught unit. Just wish I had more time with it.
Jurassic World Evolution 2, Dominion Malta expansion, Dec 8, 2022. JWE 2 isn’t new to DLC and this is nothing too shocking. It is a nice addition to the game though with some lovely new maps and a new (short) campaign. The new dinosaurs are not anything to write home about but more dinos are always welcome. I think with this game if you enjoyed it from the get go, you will like the DLC. Otherwise, the DLCs for this game aren’t going to change your opinion about making a dinosaur park.
IXION, new release, Dec 8, 2022. I almost forgot this one, that is just how many games that have been dropping. This gets some comparisons to Frostpunk in space. Meh, I guess I see why. You have limited space and you need to survive even though nothing is attacking you. I don’t think it has the same feel really but I get it. Gameplay wise it has been good so far. The cut scenes beautiful and overall it is a challenge to balance your building. You are in a space “station” that jumps around the star system and galaxy, getting resources, keeping your people alive, and saving humanity. It’s on that list of “needs more stream time.”
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